There is probably no such thing as an ‘average’ teenager, but if such a being does exist, it definitely isn’t Young Matildas goalkeeper Casey Dumont.
Currently preparing for final exams at Palm Beach Currumbin High, Dumont finds enough spare time to not only train with the Brisbane Roar, but travel around Australia and stake her claim as the form keeper of the W-League.
Earlier in the year she journeyed to China as a part of the Young Matildas, and the ambitious 17-year-old is not about to hide the fact she is desperate to break into the Matildas side for the 2011 World Cup.
“It’s one step at a time, but yeah, it (Matildas selection) is in the back of your mind,” Dumont said.
“But I’m still young enough for another round of Young Matildas, so right now I’m just focusing on W-League and finishing school.”
“After the W-League season is over, I’m going to focus on getting fit and trying to make the Matildas squad for the upcoming pre-qualifiers in May.”
“You got to look out for your competition, (national coach) Tom Sermanni said at one of the camps that he is watching the W-League and that’s how he’s going to pick the squad.”
Sermanni would have to be pleased with what he has seen so far.
The Roar are undefeated after four rounds and Dumont has let in just the one goal, but the selfless youngster refuses to take an ounce of credit for it.
“I must say, I have an easy job. I’m behind a brick wall.”
“Our backline is the starting Matildas pretty much, so it’s kind of expected that we have a good against rate.”
“There are only a few things that come through to me. If you look at the stats, I barely touch the ball.”
It is true that the Roar boast a bevy of classy defenders that smother a lot of forward surges form their various opposition, something Dumont freely admits is in some ways detrimental to her development as a shot-stopper.
“It’s good in a way, but it’s also bad because I’m not improving, because I’m not getting as many touches and not finding out the new ways to learn.”
“But it’s good, I’m sitting behind a backline that is so very experienced, so I can read things better without getting caught out.”
“I’m learning at a different stage compared to last year, when I was new. Now I’m reading the game a lot better, and improving the little things.”
Dumont, a key competent of the Roar’s domination of the inaugural W-League season, says the introduction of international talent to the domestic competition has helped her immensely in 2009.
She highlighted a stunning performance from opposite number and US import Jillian Loyden in Round 3 as an example of the benefits that come from a more professional league.
“It’s great, because I’ve been around (Melissa) Barbieri and Lydia (Williams) since I started with QAS (Queensland Academy of Sport).”
“But to see another keeper from a different country, and see the level she is at – I must say she’s outstanding, she kept the Mariners in that game.”
“We’ve got Aivi (Luik) in our team, who is an international as well, and the different perspective on the game she has, how she reads things differently, that all helps us.”
“It opens our minds more and she can give us lots of input.”
Brisbane currently sits clear atop the W-League ladder, but Dumont believes the competition is already looking a lot more even compared to last season.
“The level has gone up.”
“We’ve come out with a different perspective, last year we did fitness work … whereas this time we’ve focused more on how to play out more, keeping the ball more and improving our communication.”
“We decided before we even started that we wanted to get back on top and show the competition that we haven’t changed, that we’ve just gotten better and we haven’t dropped our standards.”
Another W-League trophy is certainly not out of the question if the Roar continue their hot form, but for now Dumont is sticking to the textbooks, as per coach Jeff Hopkins’ orders.
“It’s pretty good, because Jeffrey is understanding, he believes that education is number one, and he gives me time off when I need it.”
“In the last four weeks I’ve only been training probably three or four times a week instead of the full week.”
“Jeff is happy when I need time for breaks, and then my school is understanding as well, sometimes they move my exams around soccer.”
